The situation in Drumcree is “tense”, Sir Chris Bryant has said, as he called for everyone in Northern Ireland to “double down on compromise”.

Speaking on Tuesday at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, the Northern Ireland Secretary addressed the continued negotiations to find a resolution to the Orange Order parade dispute.

He said: “The situation in Drumcree is tense and this Government, like every Labour government, will always go the extra mile for peace.

“That’s precisely what I’ll be doing this afternoon: bringing both sides together, talking to everyone, bridging sectarian divides, and giving compromise a chance.

“Because nobody, nobody, nobody wants Northern Ireland to return to the 1990s. That’s not going to be easy, as the last few days have shown. It’s really easy to stir up a grievance, much harder to calm it down.

“Which is why I appeal to everyone: believe in Northern Ireland and double down on compromise.”

Sir Chris also said he would not be staying at the conference to hear Andy Burnham’s speech on Tuesday afternoon, and would instead be returning to Northern Ireland.

A senior Orangeman said they would meet with Sir Chris again today in a bid to find a resolution.

Portadown deputy district master Alastair Power is among a small group of lodge members who have remained at Drumcree Church waiting to take part in a march which would pass along the mainly Catholic Garvaghy Road in Portadown.

He said: “We are still at the stalemate from eight o’clock on Sunday morning. The police are still giving us an assessment that they cannot police us safely down the Garvaghy Road.

“We have left it with them that we are here and waiting until they can give us safe passage to complete our 1998 parade which was given to us by the Parades Commission with 35 Orangemen, under really restrictive conditions from the Parades Commission but we accepted that and we wish to bring our banner back home.

Mr Power said Sir Chris had not indicated what the further talks would be about.

He said: “Let’s see what’s on the table and hopefully everybody can come and get this done and resolved for everyone.”

Ireland’s Foreign Affairs Minister Helen McEntee Credit: Bairbre Holmes/PA

The Republic’s Foreign Affairs minister has called for continued calm among communities in Northern Ireland as she acknowledged the “difficult few days” for residents on the Garvaghy Road.

Speaking on her way into Cabinet, Helen McEntee said: “It’s very clear that this has been a very difficult for all communities in Northern Ireland. It’s been a very difficult few days for the residents on the Garvaghy Road and it has been difficult for all political parties.

“I want to acknowledge and commend the restraint that has been shown and to call for continued calm. It’s really important that people engage, that is the only way we will find a solution through this.

“I expect today that there will be further engagement with the community. I expect there will be further engagement with the Orange Order.

“I hope to see a process put in place that will allow people the time and space.

“People have been up late at night. It has been a very challenging time, particularly for the community and it is really important that this is resolved through dialogue, but also it’s really important that people in the community do not have a march forced on them, where very clearly this is not something that people want.”

Meanwhile, an urgent oral question that First Minister Michelle O’Neill refused to answer in the Northern Ireland Assembly on Monday has again been scheduled in the legislature’s plenary timetable on Tuesday.

Speaker Edwin Poots, who accused Ms O’Neill of showing “gross contempt” for the Assembly for her no show on Monday, said he was providing a “further opportunity” for the question to be answered.

The question was tabled by DUP MLA Phillip Brett. The question to the Executive Office, which is jointly led by Ms O’Neill and DUP deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly, asked Ms O’Neill to explain how her attendance at an unlawful parading protest on the Garvaghy Road in Portadown on Sunday was in keeping with her pledge of office.

At the start of Assembly business on Tuesday, Mr Poots said he had corresponded with the Executive Office about the relisting of the question.

The urgent oral question is currently scheduled for 2.45pm on Tuesday.

At the height of the blockade on Sunday, more than a thousand people congregated on the road to prevent the parade from the Drumcree Church from passing along the route.

A ruling by the Parades Commission permitting the Orange Order march from Drumcree Church and along the Garvaghy Road was upheld in an “unprecedented” late-night sitting of the High Court in Belfast in the early hours of Sunday.

The Drumcree parade down the Garvaghy Road has been banned since 1998.

The stand-off in the late 1990s led to violent clashes for several summers and political tension necessitated major security operations.

The Orange Order has unsuccessfully applied for more than a quarter of a century to complete its 1998 walk along its traditional route.

On Friday, the commission reversed its long-running determination and granted permission for the parade – a decision welcomed by unionist parties and met with outrage from nationalist and republican parties.

Permission was granted for a parade subject to strict restrictions, including a limit of 35 participants and an 8am start time.

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